As with every art, cooking also requires passion, interest and time... Irrespective of doing it as a leisure activity or on a regular basis, it involves dedication. The happiness you derive out of cooking by your self and serving is endless... esp someone appreciating your recipe...how nice it feels, is it not???

You may wonder about the title of this blog..Iyer Iyengar Kitchen...I am a Tanjore Iyer married to an Iyengar and picked up cooking by learning the delicacies of both the customs....and that is what I am sharing here... Recipes popular among the Tamil Iyer & Iyengar communities..

I would be really happy if this benefits atleast few of you....if you find this useful, pass this on to your friends..

Wednesday, 14 December 2011

Karuveppilai Thogayal

Ingredients:

1.Fresh Curry leaves: 1 cup full

2.Dry Red Chillies: 6 (Medium sized) – I use Gundu vathal milagai

3.Urad dal / orid dal: 2 tbsps

4.Asafoedita: A pinch

5.Tamarind: very small sized – say of the size of a Cadbury gems

6.Salt

7.Water: little

8.Oil: 2 tsps

Preparation Procedure:

1.In a small kadai, add 1 tsp oil and roast the orid dal, red chillies till the dal turns light golden colour. Keep this aside out of the kadai.

2.In the same kadai, add 1 tsp oil again, heat it on sim and add the curry leaves and fry till it turns light crispier. Immediately switch off the stove and transfer the contents to a mixie and allow it to cool for few minutes.

3.Now grind the curry leaves alone first till it becomes tiny pieces for one or two whips.

4.Now add the roasted dal, red chillies along with salt, asafoedita and tamarind bit and grind again adding water very little by little

5.Note that the mixer ingredients should be like a thick ball. You should grind it like a firm mass by adding water very little by little. If the water goes little more also, it will become like a paste.

6.Remove the contents out of the mixie and using your hand, make it like a shape of a dough / ball like and store it in a vessel and serve.

This can even be refrigerated and consumed for the next few days if you make it thick.

Excellent tastier Curry leaf thogayal is ready..

Serving Tip:

1.Make rice in cooker allowing 3 or 4 whistles.

2.Once the rice sets, take the required quantity of rice in a big mouth bowl.

3.Add 2 tsps of Gingely oil and ½ tsp of ghee to the hot rice in the bowl.

4.Allow the rice to cool for 2 to 3 mins.

5.Now with a flat ladle, spread the rice and add the Karuveppilai thogayal and mix it..note that the rice and thogayal needs to be mixed and not mashed..